Friend Like Me
by IStabbedMyTeacherWithASpork
Summary: Most of us demigods were probably wondering what Camp Half Blood was doing during the Loki crisis, and why were they letting Manhatthan fall right under their noses. The answer, They didn't. The gods were more envolved then you might have guessed at first.
1. Chapter 1

** Authors Note: Ok, so this is set in the beginning-ish part of the Avengers movie. Please Comment! I love constructive criticism, but haters go hate somewhere else please! Thanks all and I own nothing! **

Christy Coulson was mad. Her father, special Agent Phil Coulson was treating her like she was five, and humiliating her in front of the Avengers. She sighed and looked around the stark white room she inhabited. She had posted a picture of My Chemical Romance on the wall to add some personality, but the picture was black and white so it didn't really help.

She grabbed an oxygen mask she had acquired the first day, and headed outside. On the top deck there were lots of places to hide, but her favorite was a small spot on the top. Nobody went up there, and Christy had basically claimed it. It had some cupboards that she could put her books and some bedding in, and was just the right size for her to spread out on the warm metal and look at the clouds pass by lazily as they cruised over America. She could see the into the room that had the glass cage for Bruce Banner, and she could see the loading deck.  
Christy was fifteen, technically four years too young to even be aboard the ship, but Phil was the only family she had, so she got to go on all his mis adventures with him. Her mother had died when she was little, and she had no extended family. So she was forced to listen to her father rant about Steve Rogers this, and Captain America that. The guy was impressive, but not the god her dad said he was.  
"You ok?" Came a voice. Christy jumped and almost screamed. "Oh, so sorry..." She turned to see Bruce Banner was walking towards her.  
"How did you find me?" She asked.  
"I was sent to give you a message...but it might be a little hard to explain." He said, sitting down next to Christy.  
"From my father?" Christy asked.  
"No actually...from your mother." He chuckled at her shocked expression, "She should get here any moment. Then you will understand." He said.  
"What do you mean 'she should ge-" Just then he quickly covered her eys with his arm and forced her to look away as a blinding flash of light came and left. When they looked back, a beautiful woman was standing there.  
She was wearing a long flowy tunic over leggings with tall high heeled black boots. She had on an owl necklace and her long blond hair cascaded down her shoulders. She had grey eyes that were stormy and deep.  
"What the-"  
"Sorry darling, we are short on time." She said, "I am Athena, your mother."  
"Um...hate to tell you this, but my mom is dead." Christy said.  
"Well, no. Do you know about the Greek gods and goddesses?" She asked. Christy nodded,

"Like Zeus and Hera and Hades and-" The sky shook

"Good, well here is a crash course in me. I am the goddess of knowledge and battle strategy. And your mother. We live in Mt Olympus over the Empire State building. You are what is called a demigod, or half blood.  
'we usually give you years of training before we trust you with quests, but you are an exception. You see, some other demigods, the Avengers, are bringing in a prisoner as we speak, and well, we need help. He cannot stay as evil as he is. We need someone he wouldn't suspect to befriend him, against the will of everyone else." She took a breadth and Christy interjected.  
"Wait what? I'm a what?"  
"I will explain better later..." Banner said. "I am one too."  
"Oookkkeeeyyy."

"Anyways, you are to befriend him, try and get him to change. His brother is coming too..maybe that can help you if you talk to the man he grew up with. Stark, Romanoff, Banner, and Fury are all demigods who will help you. I am also sending my friends Thailia and Nico to help." You aren't alone, but it won't be easy. I just hope no monsters attack..."  
"Monsters!"  
"Its ok." Banner assured me. Athena looked at her watch and then back up.  
" I have to go. Nico and Thailia will arrive with another demigod, Barton soon. Please my dear, be safe. Take heart Christy, all will be explained in time." She reached down and stroked my hair once before turning to Banner. "Keep her safe. At all costs." He nodded and covered Christie's eyes as she disappeared.  
Christy stared at the spot where Athena stood seconds before. "What in the world just happened?" She asked, trying to keep her breadthing normal. Banner chuckled.

"Ok, so you know the greek gods and goddesses, right? They still exisist, and still have kids with Mortals. Your dad attracted Athena, and you were born. Demigods usually go to Camp Half Blood and are trained rigorously until they are ready to be trusted with a quest, usually something to do with saving the world."

"Did you go to camp half blood?" Christy asked. Banner shook his head.

"Uh.,,no. I was more of the ' stick on a deserted island and have him make Zen Gardens while a master Yoga guy learning how to be calm and collected.' Anyways, you were assigned a quest. You are to befriend Loki. This guy is crazy, power hungry, lunatic and he is in desperate need of a best friend. So….there you go. Questions?"

"Only about a million. So you are all demigods?" She asked.

"Most. Steve Rogers isn't. My godly parent is Hermes, god of travel, medicine, and the messenger of the gods. I know this is a lot to take in, but please try not to freak out."  
Christy stared at the landing platform as a plane landed. The door opened and Steve Rogers came out, followed by a man dressed in a green...tunic thing with leggings, boots, and a strange antler-like hat. Then came Stark, Natasha Romanoff and another man I have never seen with blond hair and a red cape. All of them looked pretty beat up. Except for the blond with the red cape.  
"I guess that's them." Christy sighed. "Which one will I have to befriend?"  
"Im guessing the one in handcuffs." Banner said. "That is definitely Loki. Ready to meet your new best friend?" Christy shook her head, but stood up anyways. Banner smiled, "You are definitely a daughter of Athena."  
They made it to the room with the glass cage just as Loki was walking in. As he walked in, he looked around and they made eye contact for a second. A hint of a mocking smile came on his face and he looked around the cage.  
"Don't even try to escape, "Fury was saying, showing off the features of the cage. Loki had lost his hat, and his long black hair only made his face look paler and hollower. He looked like he hadn't eaten or slept for days. Fury pushed a button and the under the cage the floor fell away and the wind was suctioning the cage down. "Even scratch this thing and you are gone."  
"Impressive," Loki said, "But not, I think, made for me."  
"No." Said Fury, "Made for something a lot stronger" Loki looked at Banner, then Christy and winked.  
"I see." He sat down on the bench and stared out. Fury shook his head and walked out, not before casting a look at Banner and Christy.  
"We need to have a conference with you now." he said, "Both of you." then he walked out. Banner followed like a dog. Christy cast one look at Loki, who was staring at her with intensity.  
"You are not like the rest..." He said. Christy walked out, thinking with horror how she would have to be this man's friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok I just want you to know that I love this chapter. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it! Thanks for commenting! **

"How did it go?" Fury asked Banner quietly. Banner just shrugged and took his seat. Everyone was sitting down, and Christy had no idea what to do. Banner nodded to the seat between him and Rogers, and Christy hurried to her seat, aware of every eye in the room on her. And she promptly tripped and landed half in the chair and half on Steve Rogers, who gently helped her fully into her chair.  
"Sorry...sorry..." She muttered, trying to hide how scarlet her face must have been. Steve laughed kindly.  
"Don't worry about it. We've all done it." He said. Christy wanted to smile, but was just embarrassed.  
"Tonight was a success." Fury said. "We captured Loki, and his brother, Thor, is joining our team." He nodded at the blond with a red cape, who smiled awkwardly. Fury was about to continue, but Tony Stark interupted him.  
"Well lets not let this awkward introduction allude us. My name is Tony Stark and my favorite ice cream is Rocky Road. Steve?" He turned to Captain America, who stared blankly.  
"I haven't had Rocky Road in over seventy years..." He said sadly.  
"That is just sad. I am going to buy you some Rocky Road tonight. Can we postpone ths meeting and get this man some ice cream?"  
Fury didn't smile. "No." Anyways, there is another member of the team...I assume you have been debriefed?" He looked at Christy.  
"Uhhh..." _Oh real intelligent. _ she thought _ your mom is the goddess of wisdom, and all you could think of was 'uhhh'? _Aloud she said, "about which part?"  
"You know your parentage? You are a demigod. As is everyone in this room, except Rogers, Thor, and of course your dad."  
"Welcome to the family sister!" Stark said.  
"You are a child of Athena?" Christy asked.  
"Um no. My dad is Hephaestus, so I guess we are cousins...but you know what I mean."  
"And you know that you are supposed to befriend Loki in a last ditch effort to create a peaceful end to this?" Fury continued. Thor scoffed,  
"Befriending my brother? That is harder than wrestling a Nidhogg..." he said.  
"A what?" Rogers asked.  
"A dragon like beast..." Thor said, trailing off as Fury was glaring at him.  
"Like I said, it was a last ditch effort. If it doesn't work then war will be what happens." he went on. "You will start tonight. You can go and pretend that we don't know you are there. Do anything you can to be his friend. We will help as much as we can without being obvious. And we will be watching you every second you are in the cage with him."  
"How will I get inside the cage?" Christy asked.  
"I know." Natasha said, standing up. "Follow me." Christy stood up ( Much more gracefully than she had sat down ) and followed her out of the room.  
"So...who is your parent?" She asked as they walked down the hall.  
"My mom is Aphrodite. Goddess of love and beauty." Natasha smiled as Christy gawked. "I know, but my dad raised me to be a Russian fighter."  
"Oh." Christy said. Natasha had led her to the main control room.  
"Stan!" She called. A nerdy boy in the standard uniform appeared and walked up. "Remember what we talked about?"  
"Yes ma'am." Stan said.  
"You let her in, and let her out, but don't let him escape." Stan nodded. Natasha looked at Christy "Stan is a good kid. Just let him know whatever you need." She said. Then she squeezed Christy's arm. "You will be fine. Trust me. All daughters of Athena are." She said, giving me a reassuring smile. Christy smiled back, and went to the room with Loki, Stan on her heels.  
Stan went straight to the control panel and opened the door. Ignoring Loki's puzzled look, Christy stepped inside and tried not to shudder as the door closed behind her.  
Loki said nothing, just stared at her. He was standing up, and was at least half a foot taller then her.  
"Hi." She said. _Get it together! That was the lamest thing you have ever said! _  
"Hello..." Loki said.  
"They sent me to see if you need anything. A magazine, or a book, a chess set, some popcorn..." Loki still stared. His eyes never left her. She stared back at him, trying hard to act unafraid.  
"No...thanks...I'm fine." Loki said, the same hint of a mocking smile toyed at his lips. Christy noticed a cut on his forehead.  
"Do you need anything for that?" She stepped closer and looked at the cut closer. "We have paramedics..."  
"No. Its fine." Loki stared down at her.  
"No, its got particles of dirt. It could get infected and that would look ugly on your forehead. Let me get the guys with antiseptic." Christy turned around and signaled to Stan to open the door.  
"No! I am a god! I don't need the help of your puny medical poison!" He said harshly. Christy kept walking.

"Of course you wouldn't normally...but I heard Fury saying that your powers are mute in this cage, and that scratch looks bad, and on top of being in this ridiculous cage with nothing to do, I don't want you to have a painful scar to bother you." She left the room and returned shortly with a first aid kit. _Thank god Phil's inability to see blood taught me how to deal with things like this. _She thought, setting it on the bench and opening it. "Sit down." She commanded. Loki stared at her for a moment, then sat down on the bench.

She pulled out an anaseptic cloth, hoping he wouldn't notice her hands shaking. She slowly walked over to him, and noticed his deep green eyes widen slightly, and doubt flashed in them. But they soon became cold as he stared at her. "Hold still. This might sting." She said, lightly dabbing the wet cloth on his forehead. First she wiped up the blood around the scratch, then had to put down the cloth for the actual scratch. He watched her every move. Christy thought back to her tripping into Steve, and prayed desperately something similar would not occur.

She pulled out some tweezers. "I have to get the large pieces of gravel out of your scar before I can do anything else." She said. She noticed his hands, pale and dry,were resting on his knees. She saw her hands were shaking slightly, and so did he.

"Nervous?" He asked with a hint of mockery.

"Not one bit." She said, steadying her hand. She tried to be as gentle as possible, but she still noticed him grip his knees when she touched it. "so sorry. Do you want some tylenol?"

"No." He said.

"So..how did you get it?" It could have been her imagination, but she thought she saw the tiniest tint of red touch the corners of his cheekbones.

"Oh my gosh, did you poke yourself?" She asked, recognizing the look of shame from the many times her dad had tripped in the kitchen and done the same.

"NO! The mighty Loki does not Poke himself!" He said, but the red was no longer just her imagination.

"ha! You poked yourself!"

"Can you please pay attention to what you are doing?"

"I cannot believe it..."

"It was with my stick. Thor tackled me. I had no control over the situation."

She shook her head. Loki simmered quietly. She grabbed a towel and some hydrogen peroxide. "Now this might sting slightly." She said, putting the towel below the cut and pouring a small amount of peroxide on the wound, pressing it with the cloth. Loki's face contorted into an odd expression, he closed his eyes and it seemed he was trying to act like it didn't hurt. She poured a little more and his leg twitched, and when she began to press it his arms flailed and he knocked the towel away holding his forehead.

"STOP THA-" She slammed the towel onto his face, forcing him to hit his head on the glass.

"Stop that right now or this will go into your eyes and you will blind yourself! Goodness! Most kids get over this when they are like, seven." He muttered something under his breath. "What was that?"

"Nothing." He grumbled. She chuckled and wiped away all the excess peroxide that went all over his forehead when his arms flailed. " are you almost done?" He asked. Christy shrugged.

"I think so."

"You have no idea what you're doing do you?"He asked. Christy said nothing, and grabbed some ointment from the box.

"This won't hurt. I promise. "She said, lightly dabbing some on the cut with her finger. He sat still and quiet as Christy put some bandaging on the cut, and patted his forehead. "There. All done. That wasn't too bad, was it?" She asked, smiling. He stared at her for a long moment.

"Do you need anything else?" She asked, packing up the first aid kit.

"No." He said, turning and sitting down.

"Then I will be leaving. Sweet dreams." She said, picking up the kit and walking out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki was bored. The cell had nothing to do, but he could never show it. So he sat on the floor, against the bench, with his legs stretched out, staring at the guard stationed to watch him. He looked to be about twenty three, with stringy red hair and more freckles than Thor had hair products. The guard was staring, shifting uncomfortably, trying not to be bothered by Loki's gaze. He shifted he arm his gun was on, and looked around the room, whistling.

Loki stared at him, his face unchanging. The guard looked back, but when he saw Loki still staring at him, he looked away quickly. Around one-thirty, the guard looked at his watch and walked away without casting Loki a final glance. He was replaced by the girl that had bandaged him up. Today, she had a large stack of books. The glass door opened, and she walked in and set the books on the bench before looking at him.

"You can read right?" She asked.

"Of course" She tossed a book at him

"Here, have you read these?" He looked at t the title

"_Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone _. No I haven't read these." He said chuckling. "I haven't had much time for reading lately." Christy smiled.

"Well you have all the time in the world now." She said, lying down with her back on the ground and her feet on the bench next to him. She had a book entitled, _Gods Goddesses and Monsters. All _You_ Need to know about being a demigod. _

"What are you reading?" He asked

"Its' for an English paper I have to write. I am still fifteen, and would like to make it through high school." She said. Loki gently grabbed the book with an expression that said, 'may I?' And read it.

"Who are these people! Zeus, Poseidon, Hades...those aren't the gods! Odin and Thor and I...we are the gods."

"There is more than one realm of mythology." Christy said, snatching the book back. "Now read." She commanded. Loki sighed and opened the book to the first page _The Boy Who Lived. _

"The Boy Who Lived? What a ridiculous title! This book sounds stupid." Loki said. Christy raised an eyebrow over her book.

"Really? You think it's stupid? Fine. Your loss. Would you rather play a game or something?"

"Why are you doing this?" he asked abruptly.

"Doing what?"

"Coming into my cell, reading offering to play games. It doesn't seem like something Fury would approve of." Loki said. Christy sighed and lay her open book on her chest. She looked tired and burdened.

"Fury doesn't approve." She said. "But I'm bored here, and you are bored here, so I figured we could be bored together!" Loki stared at her for a long time.

"You are on a magical flying ship where you can probably go wherever you want with the worlds best superheroes and you chose to spend your time in a glass box with the bad guy because you are…bored?" He said bluntly. Christy shrugged.

"Do you want to play a game or not? I have Uno, Chess, Candyland…"

"I want you to tell me why you are doing this." Loki said. She sighed,

"Because I want to! Besides, everyone else is too busy trying to stop you, that they wont play Candy land with me…"

"So this is about Candyland?" He raised an eyebrow, Loki knew virtually nothing about teenage girls, but that couldn't be all of it. "Are you avoiding someone?" Christy didn't look at him, but at the wall on the other side. She was still lying on her back.

"Well…Tony Stark is kind of annoying…" She said. Loki shook his head in disbelief. "Do you want to play a game or not?" She asked, swinging her legs around so she was sitting up next to him. Her long auburn hair was all over the place until she smoothed it back into place. Loki shook his head again.

"Fine. I will play this…candy land." Christy smiled and ran out to get the game. Loki stared after her. What was she doing? There was obviously something she was hiding. What fifteen year old girl would want to hang out with him? She didn't mind bossing him around, wouldn't take any of his bossing, and yet she didn't irritate him. He looked at the book again, _Maybe I will have to read it later…_He thought.

What human could possibly willingly spend time with him? He looked up as Christy re-entered the cell, with a long pink and blue box under her arm.

"This is Candy land. Have you ever played it before?" She asked.

"Um…no, I have never played any of your human games."

"Ok." Christy said opening the box. She pulled out a slab of cardboard and set it on the floor, then pulled out four small gingerbread figurines, and a small deck of cards. "These are the pieces. I am blue. What color do you want?" She held out her hand with a yellow person, a red person, and a green person.

"Green…" Loki said. Christy put both the Green and Blue pieces on the first space on the board.

"Ok. I will go first. I am going to draw from the deck….two purples." She moved her man past two purple spaces. "Now it's your turn."

Loki pulled a single yellow card. And Christy told him to move his man one yellow space. "This game is easy…" Loki said.

"That's what you think! Just wait until you get stuck in the Licorice trap!"

"How do you know I will get stuck in the trap?" Loki asked.

"Because everyone gets stuck in the trap!" She said mischievously taking her turn.

"Everyone? But how many Norse gods have you played against?" He said, Loki drew a card and it was the Princess Ice Cream Cone that let him move to almost the end of the board.

"Darn it!" Christy exclaimed. "You got that one!"

"Does that mean I will win?" He asked hopefully.

"Never! I will never admit defeat!"

"Oh? Just give me three more turns!" He said laughing. Full on laughing, Loki stopped half way through. Since when did Loki of Asguard laugh? He wasn't mocking anyone, he wasn't being evil, he was actually having fun. Loki shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Christy asked. He drew a card, and let out a groan.

"I'll tell you what's wrong! I have to go to the very beginning!" He said, tossing the card on the board. Christy began to laugh, and soon he was smiling again.

"See, this is what normal people do in their free time" She said.

"I wouldn't know anything about normal."

"Well what did you do when you were growing up?" Christy asked. Loki looked sad for a moment.

"We….we played different games. Thor and the Warrior Sif, before she was the warrior, were always fighting, and we would come up with competitions to see…who was better at a certain thing." He said, nostalgia in his voice. Loki shook his head. Why on earth was he telling a mortal that? She didn't need to know. Christy drew another card.

"Ho! Look at that! I am only five spaces away from Candy land! And being crowned Ruler of all the sweets in the world!" Christy said, holding the card triumphantly.

"Oh ho ho…Loki of Asguard does not give up the thrown of candy easily!" He said drawing. Christy drew another card, and marched her man to the throne.

"What was that? Giving up so easily?" She asked. Loki sighed.

"I suppose the only choice I have is to declare war!" He said, holding his man up. Christy picked hers up and they began to ram them into each other as if they were fighting. Finally Christy dropped her man.

"Fine! I surrender!" She said sadly. Loki looked sad as well, and put his man next to hers.

"Maybe they can co-rule Candy Land." He said. Christy smiled.

"Maybe….or maybe my man will assassinate yours by choking him with Licorice!" She said. Loki pretended his man was choking and tossed the 'dead' man behind him.

"Bwahahaha! Candy Land is mine!" Christy's man did the happy dance. _Buzz buzz…buzz buzz._Both of them jumped as there was a vibrating on the floor. Looking around Christy saw that her cell phone had fallen out of her pocket, and was now lying on the floor. She looked at the caller ID, sighed, and answered.

"Hello…..yes…um no…I am on the top deck…..oh….ok…..I'll be right there." She hung up, then turned to Loki. "I have to go, My dad needs me for something." She sighed and together they packed up the game. They stood up and he handed her the box.

"I think…I haven't had that much fun in years." He said quietly. Christy smiled.

"Me either." She said, before walking away.

Loki sighed, watching her leave, the boredom already beginning to sink in. Curiousiyt got the better of him and he picked up the first book.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update...the files have been sitting on my computer for awhile, I just haven't uploaded them yet...so as a hug from me to you I give you nine chapters! Please Comment! Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan and The Avengers belongs to a bunch of people who aren't me...**

Christy set the game down in her room before joining her dad in the dining hall. She sat down opposite him without looking at him.

"Christy…listen…" He began. Her dad was never any good with confrontation.

"You didn't tell me I spoke Greek." Christy said.

"Christy, listen and don't interrupt." He said sternly. Christy was shocked into silence. "I didn't tell you about your mom because I was ashamed. We weren't married obviously, and I didn't want you to know you were illegitimate. I suppose that doesn't matter because you are half god, but it mattered to me. I also didn't tell you because they told me that if you knew, more monsters would attack."

"More?" Christy asked.

"Yeah, a few monsters have tried to get at you, but some other demigods were helpful in keeping you alive. That is part of the reason I began working for SHEILD. I thought it would be a way to protect you until you were old enough to protect yourself.'

"Then Bruce Banner came to me about a month ago. He said, 'I have a message from Athena, she says its time. Christy has to get into the real world.' So I brought you along here. I was prepared to send you to boarding school this year, but Banner told me they would need you. So here you are." He stared expectantly at Christy. "I did it…all of it…because I love you. I know I haven't been a model father, but I do love you Christy." He said, grabbing her hand. Christy looked away, her grey eyes were dark.

"Oh!" Phil said, letting go of her hand and reaching into his pocket. "I have something for you. Actually it's from your mother." He said, sliding a small silver box across the table. "She says it will help you." Christy looked puzzled, but picked up the box. Inside was a simple silver wristband. She lifted the perfect metal out of the box.

"How will it help me?" She asked.

"Put it on….now twist it." Phil said. Christy did as he instructed, and in seconds it went from being a band on her wrist to a long silver knife. It was perfectly balanced and fit into her hand as if it was made for her. She stared at the knife, with a hint of trepidation in her eyes. "It's alright. We have some experts on board, and three more half bloods should arrive later today. Now slap it on your wrist." He said. Christy stared at him for a moment, and then slapped the flat of the blade on her wrist. It transformed back into a bracelet.

"That is the coolest thing I have ever seen…" She said, smiling. "Thank you daddy." She said. Phil frowned.

"I am so sorry about everything…that you have to be here on this ship, that you never had a real childhood, and that you are being forced to spend time with that…" His fists clenched as he thought about his daughter in the same cell as Loki.

"Dad its fine, I really don't mind being here. It sure beats going to class every day. And Loki isn't so bad." She said truthfully. "Honestly dad, I wouldn't change my life for anything." Phil looked up and to her dismay, he was crying. "Oh dad!" She switched seats next to him and he wrapped his arms around her. "Dad, please!" Christy never dreamed she would have to comfort her father like that.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart!" He said.

"Pull yourself together! Dad I don't mind! I really like my life!" Christy said. Phil laughed and pulled away, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve.

"Your right. Here I am sobbing like a seven year old…" He chuckled and used some napkins on the table to wipe his eyes. "Do you want something to eat?" He asked. Christy shook her head, she wasn't hungry. Phil wiped his eyes even more as Steve Rogers stormed in.

He was covered head to toe in white, and he was trailing in something that could have been flour. The only part uncovered was his eyes and mouth because he had wiped them.

"Where is Tony Stark?" He shouted to anyone who could hear. Phil stood up, putting on his Agent Phil Coulson façade. Steve saw him and marched over.

"Stark rigged my fan to explode with flour when I turned it on! My room is a mess!" He said. Christy sniggered behind her father, and she could tell Phil was trying hard not to laugh.

"He…what" Phil said calmly.

"Of all immature and un-professional things…" he trailed off, his fists clenched.

"Calm Down Steve…we can clean it up" Phil said. Before Steve could say anything else; Tony Stark sauntered in with Bruce Banner. Steve wheeled around to face them. By this time, everyone in the room was staring at them.

"STARK!" Steve shouted. Tony looked up, and smiled.

"Hey Steve, have fun in the kitchen?"

"Why the heck would you do something like that you immature…"

"Whoa calm down red white and blue, emphasis on the white."

"You rigged my fan to get Flour Everywhere!"

"Go take a shower." Stark said, going to get a salad.

"You will pay for this Stark! I swear it!" Steve said. Stark nodded.

"Yes I'm sure. I'm so scared…" Stark said, offering Banner some tea.

"You-"

"Steve Rogers, Go clean yourself up and meet us in the conference room in fifteen minutes!" Nick Fury had walked in and was staring at Steve and Stark like they were five year old boys fighting in the sandbox. Steve gave Stark one more threatening glare, and stalked off.

As soon as he was gone, Stark and Banner began laughing hysterically. Fury still didn't smile. "Everyone needs to be in the room. Barton has returned." They stopped laughing and stared at Fury.

"What? So does that mean the two new demigods have arrived?"Stark asked. Fury shook his head. He looked less happy than usual.

"No. It's complicated."

"What do you mean?" Banner asked. Fury just shook his head and walked out, Phil on his heels. Banner and Stark joined Christy at her table and they quickly ate.

"Oh my gods did you see the look on Steve's face?" Stark asked as the three of them walked to the dining hall.

"Priceless." Banner said. "You were right; it worked better than I thought it would."

"It was you two who rigged his fan?" Christy asked. Stark looked shocked

"Who else? A son of Hermes and Steve's least favorite person." He said. "Did you expect Natasha to pull something like that?"

"Where is she anyways?" Banner asked. Shark shrugged as they walked into the room. Fury was standing in his usual spot, and Phil was next to him. Other than that, the only other person in the room was a boy Christy had never seen.


	5. Chapter 5

He was tall with dark hair and bright green eyes. He looked frustrated, but would normally have a very attractive face. He had jeans and an orange tee shirt that said "Camp Half Blood." Christy assumed he was a demigod.

The boy smiled when he saw Stark.

"Tony!" He said, coming over and clasping hands.

"Jackson! What are you doing here?" Stark asked, also smiling. The boy shook his head.

"I don't know. I was supposed to be in Dallas with Tyson taking care of some Rouge Cyclopes while Thailia and Nico took care of this. But I got a surprise IM from Chiron…and here I am!"

"Who is taking care of the Cyclopes?" Stark asked.

"Conner and Travis Stoll; Sons of Hermes." The boy answered.

"Ah, my brothers." Banner said. The boy noticed Christy and Banner.

"Hello! I am Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. And you are, a son of Hermes?" He said, shaking hands with Banner.

"Yes. Bruce Banner." He said.

"Ah the Doctor, nice to meet you. And you are?" He shook hands with Christy.

"Christy Coulson, daughter of Athena…" Christy said. It sounded funny to her, _daughter of Athena._ Percy smiled.

"My girlfriend is your sister." He said. Christy smiled too; the thought of a sister was also strange.

Steve Rogers walked in, he was wearing different clothes, but his hair and face still had flour residue. Stark and Banner began to giggle like little girls. Fury called the meeting to order, and everyone sat down.

"Today we rescued Clint Barton, but there were some complications." Fury began, getting straight to the point.

"Complications?" Percy said, standing up.

"Sit down Jackson and let me handle this." Fury ordered. Percy didn't sit.

"The complications are only this, the two demigods that were supposed to have come help got stuck in the Underworld, so they sent me instead. I successfully rescued Clint Barton, who is now in the hospital ward with Natasha Romanoff."

"So it was a success. Apart from the Underworld stuff..." Stark said. "What's your problem Fury?"

"My problem is this: The gods are not cooperating, and what needs to get done isn't getting done!"

"And by not cooperating, he means that Ares wants to declare war on Loki, and the other gods are resisting!" Percy said, standing up again.

"War is our only option!" Fury's eye flashed. Percy suddenly turned to Christy.

"Christy Coulson, you are the one they sent to change Loki, aren't you?" He said. Christy nodded, "how is that coming?"

"Very well…I am beginning to break through to him I think." Christy said. Stark piped up.

"She is doing a remarkable job, and I believe that this mission could turn out successful." He said. Thor added,

"She got Loki to read. Do you know how many books he read in Asguard? None. Ever. He refused to even pick up a book." Percy smiled.

"Ares' only problem is that this is going slowly. His solution would be to come in and just kill Loki on the spot!"

"It might be better to kill him now then have to bury our friends later!" Fury said. Thor stood up.

"If you want to kill my brother, you have to come through me!" He said. Christy didn't say it, but she would defend Loki as well.

"Besides, he is a god right?" Percy looked at Thor, "He is immortal correct?" Thor nodded.

"My father warned me that some hot-headed, arrogant, idiot might meddle with this…" Fury said.

"Hot headed? Arrogant? Idiot? Coming from Ares, that's rich." Percy shook his head.

"How old are you? You think you can come parading in and take over my ship? What gives you the authority?" Fury asked. Percy chuckled.

"Firstly, I am seventeen. Secondly, I am not trying to take over your ship. Command of a ship is the last thing I need. And thirdly, you know that I was offered godhood right? I saved Manhattan a couple times, actually fought your dad in order to restore order between the Big Three, have been to the underworld and back twice and took a bath in the River Styx, so really, I think that my resume gives me the right, and besides that, the gods told me to." He stared Fury down, "the only reason I would take over this ship, is if I feel like it is in poor hands now."

"A son of Poseidon, shouldn't Zeus smite you now?" Fury glanced at the roof.

"He might if he weren't so busy dealing with Ares' stupidity!" Percy said, "Besides, I saved his butt multiple times. Zeus owes me."

"What is our next move then?" Steve asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Our next move is to keep doing what we have been doing. Christy needs to be trained, and Percy has offered to do so, and we will keep trying to figure out Loki, and hope that nothing happens in the meantime" Fury said, then to Percy, "If that pleases the gods." Percy nodded.

"I think it will." He said. Fury sighed.

"Dismissed." He said. Everyone stood up and began shuffling out. Christy wanted nothing else than to go somewhere quiet and get away from all this arguing, but Percy stopped her.

"Hey, meet me in the gym in five minutes" He said offhand, turning to talk to Stark about something. She nodded and walked out.

Seven minutes later, Christy was standing in a wrestling ring, facing Percy. "Ok, you have a weapon right?" He asked. Christy nodded and twisted her bracelet, still astounded at how fast it turned into a knife, and how balanced it was.

"Nice. Gift from your mother?" He asked. Christy nodded. Percy pulled an old pen out of his pocket and took off the cap. Soon he was holding a long bronze blade. "This was from my father."

"What exactly will I be fighting with this?" She asked.

"Mostly monsters, maybe other demigods, possibly a god or two, now we are training you for if this plan fails and you need to fight Loki's army, or even Loki. " Percy said. Christy was not reassured. "So firstly, when you have a knife you have to stay close…." He explained some key points to fighting with a knife, and soon they fighting.

At one point, Christy accidentally grazed his arm and was sure she took off a layer of skin. Percy glanced down at where the blade had hit, then shrugged.

"I am so sorry, are you ok?" She was alarmed. Percy Chuckled.

"You remember my bath in the River Styx I mentioned? Well…this is the product. I am basically indestructible except for one spot on my body. It's what happened to Achilles, but I didn't choose my heel." They kept fighting until dinner, and then afterwards he began teaching her ancient Greek.

"Are you dyslexic?" He asked. Christy shook her head.

"I guess. My dad has always given me Greek text to read, I didn't realize I couldn't read English very well until a few days ago…"

"Really, so you can read Greek fluently…good. Do you have ADD or ADHD?"

"Yeah, ADD, but most people don't know that…"

"That's ok. Every demigod has some form of ADD or ADHD. It is basically your battle reflexes." He said, "And most are dyslexic because they read ancient Greek and Latin better than they read English."

Percy didn't let them stop studying until late into the night, and Christy was too tired to visit Loki again, so she just collapsed on her bed and was asleep in seconds.

Soon after she fell asleep, Christy was taken to a strange dream.

She was standing on a beach she recognized as being in California. Four men were standing on the beach. The first had long pepper hair and a beard to rival Moses. He was wearing a pinstripe suit and had striking blue eyes. The second man was wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He had short dark hair and green eyes. The third had jet black hair and eyes. He had on a black suit, and his skin looked almost translucent. The last man had jeans and a leather jacket. He had on a helmet and his eyes danced like fire.

"Who cares what Athena thinks!" the leather one was saying, "she doesn't even know the girl!"

"Athena has been watching Christy just as I watched Percy, Zeus watched Thailia, and you watch Clarisse." Said the one with the Hawaiian shirt.

"As have the rest of us, Apollo gave us an indication she would be special." Said the guy with all black.

"Well how do we know she will succeed?" Asked the leather one.

"We don't, but we have to hope." Said the pinstripe guy. "Another monster attack in Manhattan now would be catastrophic. Besides, an attack that big would be too much to shroud with the mist."

"And don't you think she is getting to attached to him? It is sort of like a demigod falling in love with a hellhound, it isn't right" Argued Leather guy.

"Hellhounds are not bad….anyways, it is not like that. She does not care for him like love. She cares for him like a brother, or a friend." Said the one in black. Leather scoffed.

"What would you know about love? That DiAngelo woman? All she gave you was a dead daughter and a worthless son." The black one grew three inches and even more translucent. His whole being shook, and Christy could almost see his skull as he pulled out a long black sword and swung at Leather. However, just as the sword was about to hit, Christy woke up in a cold sweat.

She sat in her bed breathing heavily for at least two minutes before she was controlled enough to think. She got out of bed and began to wander the ship, trying to get the thoughts out of her head.

No doubt those were gods she had seen; probably Ares was the leather one. Poseidon might have been the one with a Hawaiian shirt, and she had no idea who the others could have been.

She wandered past the Gym, and stopped as she saw a light and heard noises. She walked inside and saw Percy. He just had on shorts and an undershirt and was beating a punching bag with all his strength.

She stood for a few moments, wondering if she should leave, or say something. Percy stopped to get a drink of water, and saw her.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked.

"Bad dream." Christy said simply.

"me too…half bloods get those a lot. Sometimes they mean something big, what was yours?" He sat on one of the benches. Christy sat next to him and relayed her dream, concluding with her guesses as to who the people were. Percy nodded.

"Good guess. The one in black was definitely Hades, and I am assuming the other one was Zeus. If Ares is going so far as to fight with Hades, he must be desperate for war…"

"What is the mist Zeus mentioned?" Christy asked.

"The mist is a magical thing that shrouds the eyes of mortals. If we use the mist, then most cannot see what is happening, like my sword, or the monsters that attack. They make it look normal. Of course, there are a few mortals that can see through the mist. My mom, your dad, a friend of mine named Rachel. I bet Steve Rogers can see through it as well." Percy explained.

"Oh. I see…what about Thor?"

"I'm not sure. I am assuming he can, but I honestly don't know much about Thor and Loki and Odin and the Norse gods."

"So what does my dream mean?"

"It means we are running out of time." Percy said, "And you better make Loki change fast or Ares will act, and that won't be good."


	6. Chapter 6

Christy stared at the collection of games in the closet. She sighed and closed the door. She and Loki had already played all of them. She wanted something new. Christy wandered around the ship, trying to think of something to do with Loki. She came across Rogers, still trying to get the flour out of his boot. "Hey Steve…" She said, not wanting to startle him. He glanced up, saw it was her, then returned to his work.

"What can I do for you Christy?" He asked.

"I was just trying to think of something to do with Loki today. We have played all the games in the closet." Steve sighed,

"You are actually enjoying spending time with him aren't you?" He asked. Christy shrugged.

"He is the only person on this ship who will take the time to play a game with me." She said. Steve shook his head.

"I worry about you… I know I don't know you that well, but I am concerned that you are getting too, attached."

"I'm not. Trust me." Christy lied. Steve stared at her for a long moment.

"Okay. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I appreciate your concern, but trust me. I have it all under control." Christy gave him her best reassuring smile. Finally he nodded.

"Have you played chess? It is the only thing here I understand."

"No, there wasn't a set in the closet."

"I have one; it's in my room under the bed." He said, standing up and putting his boot back on, "I was just about to go there anyways." He walked out and Christy followed.

He pulled out an old wooden box and handed it to her. "Just be careful." He said. Christy smiled.

"I will be." She said.

Loki was sitting next to the last books she had left him, the Hunger Games. She set the game down and picked up the one on top of the stack.

"What happens?" He asked. She glanced up,

"What?"

"What happens? That is an awful spot to end a book! Everyone is unhappy; there is no hope…What happens next?" He looked genuinely concerned.

"Oh my gosh you read all three?" She asked, flipping through the pages as if somehow they would prove he read it. "In one day?"

"Yes! What happens next? I demand you tell me!" He said.

"I don't know! What do you think happens next?" She asked, smiling at his look of despair. He sighed.

"What is that?" he asked, nodding towards the chess set.

"Chess." She said, moving the stool so it was between them, and taking out the pieces, "This game is slightly more sophisticated than candy land, but not nearly as much fun. It is strategic." She said, smiling. Loki sat down with his legs crossed, his elbows on his knees, and his head resting on his hands, waiting with wide eyes for her to explain the rules.

As much as he hated to admit it, Loki looked forward to her visits, and although he would never say this to anyone, he was beginning to feel a small part of him caring for this girl. Not in the way that Thor cared for that girl Jane Foster, but like he had seen a man protecting his young daughter, when he tried to take over the square. Loki felt like he needed to protect Christy, which didn't quite fit into his 'destroy the world' plan.

"Ok, so this is your king. He is the second most important piece, he is the one you are trying to protect." Christy said, handing Loki a small white figure with a cross on top. "This is your queen, she is the most important. Without here, there is little hope of winning the game." She placed a shorter figure next to the king. "These are your bishops, knights, and rooks. They are equally important, but each has different specialties." She put two pointy guys, two horses, and two castles on the board. Loki looked at the pieces on his side and began to set them up like she had. All that was left was a bunch of small funny looking guys with balls on their heads.

"These are the pawns, these guys are almost as important as the queen, because what they do can affect the whole game." Christy set hers up in a row.

"So they all protect their king? As it should be." Loki said, delicately placing the wooden figurines as she had. Christy glanced at him, but said nothing.

"Now the first person to get their opponents king into checkmate wins." Christy said. "They are in checkmate if there is nothing they can do to redeem themselves."

She explained how the people moved, each person had their own talent, she said. Loki liked that, 'there own talent…'

Loki, being white, went first. He picked up a pawn, and moved it forward two spaces. Christy moved her pawn forward and soon they were engrossed in the game. Loki instantly understood how to play, how to strategize, but Christy was also an expert at strategy. The game lasted most of the afternoon and into the night.

About halfway through, Christy broke the silence.

"Earlier you said that the people were protecting the king, 'as it should be.' What did you mean?" She asked slowly and cautiously, as if she was scared he would get mad.

"I mean that isn't it the subjects jobs to protect the king?" He said.

"No, I think that the mark of a good ruler is one who will put himself in danger to save his people." She said. Loki flashed back to the many times Thor had led them on dangerous and crazy journeys to battles in many places. All the times they risked their lives because Thor wanted the people of Asgard to know peace. And the many times the All Father had done the same.

"I think a good ruler will have enough control to not need to put himself into dangerous situations to protect his people, because they don't need protection." He said after awhile.

"But that is impossible! One man cannot control everyone! That would drive anyone mad!"

"Don't you see though, even your leaders, the Avengers turn to Fury to tell them what to do, _Captain _America won't do anything without the ok from his commanding officer, and where does Fury get his orders? Someone else, and then down the chain of command, to allow for Captain America to throw his shield at one man." Loki noticed Christy's eyes shot to the camera in the corner, and knew she would say something if they weren't being watched.

"I don't know, I don't know anything, except that you are in Checkmate!" She said, moving one pawn into a spot close to his King. Loki gasped and looked down, calculating every possible move for his king, and realizing she had indeed won.

"Wow…dethroned in Candy Land, then I got assassinated by licorice, then my king was murdered by a bunch of short men with funny looking heads!" Loki threw his hands into the air in mock defeat. Christy laughed, and then looked at her watch.

"Well, I'd better go. I will bring you some more books before I go to bed." She said, grabbing Chess and the books. "See you later!" She said, leaving him again, alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Christy walked away from Loki's cage, and knew that she was on the verge of changing his mind, if only they could talk alone. Without being recorded or watched or anyone knowing that they had even talked.

That was going to be impossible. His cage was always on monitor, and unless she somehow gave the camera a loop, there was no way she was going to be able to let him out.

She set down the game and the books, chastising herself for even considering letting him out of his cage. That would no doubt end up with her being thrown of the ship, made to walk the plank.

She walked to the dining hall, grabbed a salad, and sat down to eat it at a table in the corner. She could have joined Natasha, Barton and Percy at their table, or Thor and Steve at theirs, but she preferred to think alone.

Her goal was to get Loki to change. That was the plan right? No one said anything to her about letting him out of his cage…besides if Ares is so keen to act, this might be the only time she had. Lame excuse she told herself.

And even if she wanted to, there was no way she would be able to sneak him out and then back in without anyone noticing. For one thing they would notice she was gone, and for another they would see it on the cameras.

"You look troubled." Christy almost screamed. She had been so lost in thought she hadn't seen Stark's arrival. He had a salad as well and had invited himself to eat at her table. "Come, talk to Uncle Tony." Christy shrugged; thanking the gods he couldn't read minds.

"Just a little stressed." She said, major understatement…

"I understand, this whole saving the world crap is a little taxing on young souls. Anything in particular you need to get off your chest? I am supposed to be helping you with your mythology anyways, so if any of that confuses you…"

"All of it does, but that isn't the main problem." She said. Could she tell Tony some of her feelings? She trusted him more than anyone else on the ship, even more then her father. If she were to confide in anyone, it would be 'Uncle Tony.' He was staring at her.

"And what, pray tell, is the main problem?" He asked, and then sighed, "Oh please, all that time I was under house arrest, and I let you ride my motorcycle _inside _and didn't tell your dad has to give me some credibility! I won't tell a soul on this ship. Boy scouts honor." He stuck up his two fingers on his left hand. Christy laughed,

"You were never a boy scout…" She said. Tony shrugged.

"Ok then, I swear on the river Styx I will not tell anyone what you say here now." He said, "And mythology lesson number one, when you swear on the River Styx, it cannot be broken, or bad things happen."

"Ok fine…" Christy looked around; making sure no one was in earshot. "It's Loki."

"I kind of guessed that." Stark said. "Can I sum up what you are feeling now?" He asked. Christy said nothing, curious as to what he thought she thought, "At first, you hated him, and couldn't imagine how you would be able to spend any time on the same ship with him, let alone the same cell. Then soon, he begins to let down his guard, and you do as well, and both of you realize the other isn't so bad. Am I right so far?" Christy said nothing, so he continued.

"Anyways, now you actually care for him, and you don't want him to get hurt, and you know that if he follows through with his 'rule the world' plan not only will he be physically hurt, by the Avengers, but emotionally damaged because you know that we will win and that will do nothing for his either narcissistically high, or unhealthily low self image. Am I right?" Stark finished.

Christy just nodded, as she couldn't bring herself to speak. He had hit the nail on the head.

"Well…that's crazy stuff." Stark said, "If it means anything, you are doing a fantastic job of being his friend, too much so I think. He might be starting to care for you, like you are caring for him." Christy sighed.

"What do I do Tony? I have no options!" She said, "I feel like I am so close to helping him, but I have no idea what to do next!"

"Well, my suggestion would be whatever you have to." Stark said seriously. "I know that some people think there is no hope for Loki, but they don't watch you guys in the cage as much as I do. I am usually the one watching you, and I can see that you are close to changing his mind." Stark sighed. "I might regret this later, but whatever you do to change him, I will be behind you. Even if, especially if, it pisses off Fury." He added with a smile, "mythology lesson number two: Hephaestus and Ares hate each other. Hephaestus's wife, Aphrodite is always cheating on him with Ares, so they aren't really pals. I will help you with whatever you need me to do." He said.

"Thanks Tony, you have been a great help." She said, a plan formulating in her mind.

Loki sat in his cell, wondering what books Christy would bring next. As much as he hated it, he was beginning to like reading. Thor was always the one who would read, and study, and pay attention, and Loki would be off causing trouble, but now that he had nothing else to do, he was beginning to enjoy the simple pastime.

He had already read Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings, and the Chronicles of Narnia, all of which were in Greek, and couldn't believe there were actually interesting books. On Asgard, they were forced to read boring history books and books on science and philosophy. No story books were allowed. All the stories he knew were from Odin when he was small.

Loki was jolted out of his memory as Christy came in with a stack of small paperbacks.

"What did you bring me this time?" he asked. Christy smiled,

"These are Shakespearian Plays. They are a lot harder to read, and hopefully will last you longer then two days." She said. She pulled one off the top and handed it to him, "I want you to read this one first." She said. Loki glanced at the title, _Twelfth Night. _He opened to the first page, and saw a note scribbled in the front. Glancing at the Camera, and then Christy, he quickly read it.

Be prepared for me at 2:30 in the morning. We need to talk,

Christy.

He read the note, and then looked up at Christy. Her grey eyes said, 'don't say anything.' So he just sighed and closed the cover.

"This looks interesting; I should like very much to talk about it..." He said, hoping she understood that he understood.

"Yes, I will be interested to hear what you think." She said, and he knew she understood his connotation. "Well, I had better go. See you later." She said, leaving the cell.

Loki re-read the note, and stuffed it into the middle of one of the books farther down before beginning to read the play.


	8. Chapter 8

It was two fifteen in the morning, and Christy's alarm went off. She swung her legs off the side of the bed and slipped on her shoes. She had gone to bed wearing her clothes, so she could be as quick and quiet as she could.

She had spent the rest of the night studying the camera cycles and the security shifts during the night so that she could do this without getting caught. She had hooked up the security system to her phone, thanks to the many hours working with Tony Stark, so that she could control the cameras from anywhere. She looked at the ones from the hall to Loki's cell, and timed the movements so that she could race down the hall undetected.

The biggest problem was the cameras in Loki's cell. She would have to delete the recordings off of that afterwards, as they were designed by Stark and unable to be looped or controlled by anyone without authorization. Christy didn't have authorization.

She raced down the hall, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure she would wake up someone. But she got to his cell quickly and uneventfully. He looked surprised as she opened the door and stood right outside.

"Ok, what I am about to do is so against the rules I could probably be tried with treason and found guilty." She said, "But I need you to swear, on the river Styx, that you will return, and that you will not breathe a word of what happens tonight to anyone."

"What is going…"

"Repeat after me, 'I Loki…" She looked at him expectantly, so he repeated.

"I Loki,"

"Swear on the river Styx,"

"What is the river Styx?"

"Just say it!"

"…swear on the river Styx…"

"To not try in any way shape or form to leave this ship…" She waited as he repeated, "I will not try to harm anyone, or do anything malicious or even potentially dangerous to the ship or its inhabitants….and I swear on the River Styx to return with Christy when she says so….and to not tell anyone what happened." Loki repeated everything Christy had said, and she sighed. Fear showed in the sweat on her face, and the shaking of her hand.

"Come on." She said. Loki slowly stepped out of the cage and looked around, as if he expected something to change. Christy led him through winding corridors and to a low deck of the ship. From the spot they were at, they could see everything they were flying over, the whole city.

"Where are we?" He asked, quietly, staring with awe at the lights below.

"Somewhere in California." Christy said, sitting cross legged on the ground. Loki hesitated before joining her.

"What are we doing?" He asked, "You do realize you just let the Number One bad guy out of his cell don't you?"

"Yeah…I do. But we couldn't talk there. Here, no one can hear us." She said.

"Ok, what do you want to talk about?" He asked, although he had a pretty good guess as to what it was. It probably had something to do with the conversation they had during chess.

"Look at the city." She said. Loki did. The lights were twinkling, although the city looked noisy, he knew that only a few cars would be on the road, a few lights on in apartments. "All these people…everyone has problems, but they are eventually resolved, or not. And then new ones come up, and are resolved or not, and then another one comes up and…Every day thousands of problems are solved! Without the help of someone ruling them." She said. Loki didn't want to have this conversation.

"So much pain is caused by people disagreeing. So much pain, if one person and one person alone were in charge and the people didn't question them, then the pain would be gone!" he said.

"No! The pain would still be there, it would just come from somewhere else! And how will one person control every single situation ever. If one man has a disagreement with his wife in America, while two children are fighting over a toy in China, how will that person help both? At least one person will get hurt, and many of thousands of arguments happen daily! How will you control every single one?" Loki noticed how suddenly it went from a hypothetical person to him.

He didn't answer for a long time, then, "I would need a fresh start." He said quietly, "With only a few people. The less people, the less chance of arguments, and the more control I would have."

"You are talking about wiping out every single person on the planet, except a few, so you can start over? What is wrong with our planet now? Why do you need to come in and take control? How many people will get hurt in your crusade to end pain?" Christy asked, her voice rising. Loki sighed.

"That is a sacrifice that has to be made for the better of the world." He said.

"What give you the right to make that choice?"

"Nothing, except I am more qualified to do it then say, a fat American with his beer."

"You are trying to play god in a world that doesn't need it." Christy said. Loki turned from the city to face her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we have people in control, true they suck at it, but that is our problem. No one invited you to come, and we sure as hell don't need another messed up ruler!"

"Are you saying I'm messed up?" He asked, she said nothing.

"All I'm saying is I don't think the world needs you to rule the way you are going to rule." She said finally.

"Why did you bring me here?" He asked suddenly.

"Because…they don't think there is any hope for you to change." She said.

"And you disagree?"

"Yes. I do, Loki I have seen you playing games and thinking and reading, you are a great guy! You just need to get over some of your bitterness towards Odin and Thor, and then you could be one of us. There are so many dangers in the world, not just ours but in all the worlds that could use a guy like you to help prevent."

"Are you suggesting I forgive Odin, and Thor?" He asked, scoffing.

"Yes! Loki, I found out like three weeks ago that my father had been lying to me my whole life about my mother, but I have forgiven him. Thor and Odin still love you. They always have. Loki, you are Odinson. You have what it takes to be as good as Thor. You just haven't implemented your strength correctly."

"Odin and Thor are no longer my family! Don't you see? I am Laufyson. I cannot be king of Asgard, so I should be king of earth."

"You cannot be king of Asuard because you are younger than Thor. He is the older brother, and you need to realize that it has nothing to do with the fact that you are adopted, it has everything to do with the fact that Thor is older than you!" Loki said nothing for an eternity, both just stared at the city moving slowly beneath them.

Finally Loki spoke.

"Even if I wanted to do something different, there is nothing I can do now anyways. The plan has progressed too far for me to stop it."

Christy's heart skipped a beat, was Loki actually considering changing?

"We can help you." She said, "We have Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, two of the world's most brilliant men, they can probably figure out how to stop this attack if you help them."

"You know how much they trust me."

"I know how much they trust me." Christy said, "I could convince them you changed."

"And how do you know that I am not toying with you? I could just be saying that to get out of my cell…"Loki said, although he was lying. Deep down he was truly wondering, was there hope? Could he just forgive Thor and Odin and move on like nothing happened? Was it possible for things to go back to the way they were?

"I don't know that." Christy said, "But I have a hunch…" she smiled, then yawned and looked at her watch. "it's already three am, and I still have to erase some footage before I go to sleep. We had better head back."

Loki stood up, and then helped Christy stand up.

"Christy, listen," He began, "I don't know if it is possible for me to change, or if I can stop anything that has been set in motion, but I do want to thank you for believing I can change. Not many people do anymore." He said. Christy smiled softly.

"Loki…there is always hope. No matter what." She said so confidently, Loki almost believed it himself. They walked back to his cage quietly because they didn't want anyone to see, and soon he was back inside, and she was out. "Goodnight Odinson." She said softly as the door closed. Loki and her made eye contact just before it shut, and she could see traces of dampness in his eyes.

Christy hurried to the control room and used her impressive hacking skills to delete the data on the hard drive, and replace it with an image of Loki sleeping. Then she made sure to delete everything that had a hint of them, or her, in the corridors.

By the time she was done, it was almost four in the morning, and Christy stumbled into bed.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Tony Stark woke up at his usual time of six in the morning, grabbed his coffee and a yogurt, and returned to work on Loki's staff. So far, it had given him nothing but trouble, the stupid thing was giving off way too much radiation, and Stark couldn't figure out why. Neither could Banner for that matter and Banner was an expert in radiation.

Stark was mulling through his files, trying to find something in his past work that might help, some embarrassing footage he could use against Rogers, or something Fury was trying to hide.

He found something but it wasn't Fury who was trying to hide it. He was going through the footage and found a file had been moved around. It was footage of Loki sleeping. Curious, Stark saw that it had been moved to the middle of the night before's footage.

He quickly glanced into the monitor and saw that Loki was sitting, in his cage, reading. Stark looked over the file from the night before and saw that something had been deleted. He digged a little, and found the file that had been erased.

He almost shouted in shock when he saw Christy letting Loki out of his cage, but he kept quiet and watched her make him swear on the river Styx to return, and not do anything evil and blah blah blah, and then both of them left. He scanned forward and saw they returned half an hour later.

Stark re-watched the footage, and then scanned the footage for the entire ship, and saw that a whole heap of files had been moved and erased so that it appeared nothing had happened. He found the hidden camera on the lower deck and watched as Loki and Christy sat and talked, like normal people.

He realized with shock that Christy did actually care for Loki, a lot, and he obviously cared for her as well. Then they left the dock and Christy erased the data.

She had done a good job, and anyone else would have missed her mistakes. But Stark had been the one to teach her how to do that, and he hadn't taught her everything he knew.

Tony flashed back to the evening before, when he had told her he was behind her in anything she did, and she had gotten Loki to change, or at least admit that he wanted to. This means she made progress, and he had to back her.

Besides the fact that he had promised, Tony totally agreed with what she had done. So, without a second thought, he erased the data completely from any hard drive or system ever, and covered her tracks so well even he would have a hard time finding them.

Another thing he knew was he would never tell her he knew.

So when she walked in two hours later looking like a zombie, he simply said,

"Long night?" He had ditched the computer and was running more tests on the stick while Banner did some chemical analysis on the composition of the blue part of the stick. Christy just nodded and sat on a stool nearby.

"Couldn't sleep." She said. Stark nodded.

"I understand, happens to me…" Stark glanced at his phone as it begun to ring. He put it on speaker. "Hello?"

"Do you have Prince Albert in the Can?" Asked Steve Roger's voice, very badly disguised. Steve smiled.

"Um…yes. I believe so." He said.

"Then you better let him out because he his suffocating!" Said the voice, before hanging up quickly. Stark, Banner and Christy exchanged glances.

"Was that a prank call?" Banner asked finally. Tony nodded before bursting out in laughter.

"Yes, I believe that Captain America just pranked me!" His smile broadened and he got that glint in his eye that Christy knew meant trouble.

"Tony…" She said.

"How do I get him back?"

"Vaseline on the doorknobs." Banner said. "It was an old prank I used to do before…well…anyways, you put Vaseline on his doorknob, and his coffee mug, his toothbrush, anything he would touch."

Tony looked at Banner like he was Santa Clause. "That is ingenious my friend!" He said. "Where can I get some Vaseline?"

"I've got some." Christy offered. "We could do it tonight." She said. They all fell silent as Steve Rogers walked into the room.

"Morning everybody." He said cheerfully. Everyone mumbled a response and Stark and Banner got back to work. Steve shrugged. "Any new leads?"

"Nope." Said Stark

"Oh, any new ideas about anything?" Steve glanced at the computer like he understood the numbers and letters flashing across the screen.

"Nope." Banner said.

"Oh, anything new at all?" Steve looked at Stark expectantly.

"Nope." Stark said, not even looking up.

"Why so sad?" Steve looked around. "You all look like zombies!" Christy had fallen asleep with her head on her arms on one of the tables. "Get some coffee! Take a shower! Wake up! We have science to do!" Banner stared at him from above a microscope.

"Steve, please. We are trying to do science here." He said. "And unless you can be of help, it would be best if you left." Steve looked like a sad puppy as he walked out.

"Do you think I should have mentioned the call I got?" Stark asked. Banner shook his head.

"Nah, maybe he will do another one" Banner said, smiling. With a loud _CLANG _tony dropped a tray, and Christy woke up with a start.

"Oh gods..." She said. Stark and Banner were staring at her.

"So sorry I woke you up!" Stark said, picking up the tray. Christy shook her head. "Why don't you go to bed?" Stark said. Christy nodded and trundled off.


	10. Chapter 10

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP _Steve Rogers sat up, instantly alert to any and all dangers. However, the only danger was his alarm clock, which had somehow malfunctioned and was going off. He looked at the time, Two Thirty. He hit the off button on the back of the analog clock and rolled over to go back to sleep.

_RIIINNNGGGG RINNNGGGGG RIIINNGGGG _Steve shot up again, but this time his clock was silent. It read two thirty am. He looked around for the source of the noise, and soon found another alarm on the opposite side of the room. It was a digital one, one of the new ones Steve wasn't sure how to use. He unplugged the chord and tossed the alarm into the trash.

_BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP _Three AM. This time, Steve turned on his light and saw five more alarms sitting around the room. He unplugged every one and set them in a pile in the corner. With boiling frustration, he noticed the _STARK _logo was on every one of the clocks.

_BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. _Steve groaned and again turned on the light. He couldn't see any more alarms in his room, and soon discovered this one was in the bathroom, where he found three more. He piled those with the rest, vowing to kill Tony Stark as soon as possible. By the time he finally went back to sleep, it was four o'clock.

_DING DING DING DING_. This time, Steve grabbed his blanket and pillow and, ignoring the odd looks from the night-guards, went to the rec room and fell asleep on the couch.

"Rogers?" Steve rolled over and saw Percy Jackson peering down at him. A quick glance at his watch told Steve it was seven thirty in the morning. He groaned and stood up, stretching his aching back. "Are you ok?" Percy asked.

"Yeah…" he had to stop and yawn, "Someone rigged a whole heap of alarm clocks to go off at random times last night in my room. I found ten of them, but they kept going off. So I slept out here." He picked up his blanket and pillow and slowly trudged back to his room to shower and get dressed.

"That sucks…who did it?" Percy asked, following him.

"I don't know…I have a hunch though." Steve said, noticing Tony Stark walking towards the lab with a cup of coffee. He stopped when he saw Steve and Percy.

"Good morning boys…did you have a slumber party and not invite me?" He looked at Steve's pillow, "I must admit I would expect something like that from Steve, but Percy? I am offended."

"Well, I wouldn't have had to, but my alarm went off awful early." Steve said. Stark looked sympathetic.

"Oh, does it have too many buttons for you to work? Tell you what, since you are just a swell guy, I will, out of the goodness of my heart, teach you how to use an alarm clock." Stark said.

"Oh good, I have a few actually, they were in my room." Steve said, "funny you should offer to help, I have a feeling you will understand these very much."

"I understand Technology very well. It runs in my family." Stark shrugged, "you know, my dad is god of the forges and tech and stuff, well ancient Greek's didn't really have tech, but he was god of all things awesome or something like that, I don't quite remember."

Steve nodded sarcastically, "Oh, I get it. Just because you are a demigod you think that gives you the right to pick on us mortals?" Stark looked around confused.

"Did I say that?" He asked Percy. "No no no Steve…I pick on you because you have the funniest reactions."

"You know Stark, where I come from we call people like you bullies." Steve said. Stark tried really hard not to roll his eyes, "And people like you get served justice!"

"Oh…I'm so scared. You know I am a part of "The Earth's Mightiest Heroes" Right? Anywhoo…I've got science to do, you wouldn't understand." Stark walked past Steve.

"Hero? Is that what you call yourself?" Steve yelled. Stark stopped,

"Hey, I didn't get asked if I wanted to be here anymore then you did." He said without looking back, "In fact, I would rather not be here, but I am trying to make light of a difficult situation by pulling pranks. It is what I do best, so if you have a problem with that, then you can take it somewhere else." He continued walking without a second glance. Steve looked at Percy, who shrugged.

"Tony has been like that for as long as I have known him." He said, "But when it comes down to it, he knows what matters."

"I certainly hope so." Steve said, staring hatefully at where Stark had been standing.


	11. Chapter 11

Loki sat in his cell, reading _The Great Gatsby _By F. Scott Fitzgerald, when he heard voices. One was distinctly Christy, the other he recognized as her father.

"You are spending too much time in there." Coulson said.

"Dad please. I know what I'm doing." Christy said.

"Do you? Because think that you are getting way to involved. If I didn't know you better, I would say you developed feelings for him."

"But you do know better. Dad you are the ones who sent me in there. I'm just doing my job." She said forcefully.

"Your job? You were supposed to get information! Not make him fall in love with you!" Coulson yelled.

"I need him to trust me before I can get information from him!" Christy exclaimed.

"I think he trusts you." Coulson said flatly.

"I was just about to get the information. Trust me, Fury is breathing down my neck too! I will get the information you need by Friday. I promise." She said.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't want you to hurt your boyfriend would we?"

"Please dad! He isn't my boyfriend, it's called _acting_. It's where people _act_. I was just playing with him." She said softer.

"So he means nothing to you?" Her father asked.

"Less than nothing." She said soberly. Loki heard footsteps and everything was quiet again. Loki slowly felt his heart crawl up his throat, and he felt his eyes swelling up.

He had been such a fool! She obviously didn't care for him! He looked down at the book again, and looked with surprise at the tear that fell onto one of the pages. He quickly closed the book and set it on the bench beside him.

Who was I kidding? I am just a monster. A monster…" He thought. She played me! Like a piano and I was foolish enough to fall for it…He clenched his hands into fists and sat stoically, not bothering to wipe away the single tear, but not allowing any more to mar his face.

In the dining hall, Coulson and Christy were getting supper.

"Christy….can I talk to you?" He asked, following her to her seat.

"Of course." Christy said.

"Its about Loki…You are spending too much time in there." Coulson said.

"Dad please. I know what I'm doing." Christy said.

"Do you? Because think that you are getting way to involved. If I didn't know you better, I would say you developed feelings for him." Christy said nothing for a time, then,

"You are the ones who sent me in there. I was just doing my job." She said softly.

"Your job? You were supposed to get information! Not make him fall in love with you!" Coulson yelled.

"I need him to trust me before—" She started

"He trusts you." Coulson said flatly.

"I don't want to hurt him." Christy said, "He has been betrayed enough."

"Gods, you do love him! That does a fathers heart good." Coulson retorted.

"Please dad, it's called having a heart!"

"Something he knows nothing about!"

"Are you that daft? He has a heart, I've seen it! He has hidden it beneath layers and layers of pain and betrayal! I don't want to be another layer of hurt."

"I am pulling the plug. You are no longer allowed in with him." Coulson said.

"You can't do that! I was sent by Athena to see what I could do for him. Not to spy on him, and certainly not to hurt him."

"I am your father, and you are not to be in his cell anymore."

"Too bad." Christy stood up and stormed out of the room. She walked down the hallway too the lab.

Stark was messing with something half heartedly, and Banner was fiddling with Loki's staff. Christy looked at the monitor. Loki was sitting still, the book closed next to him. He looked troubled by something.

"Stark," she said. Tony glanced up.

"Yeah?"

"Can you…not tell my dad? I would rather this time go unknown." She glanced at the screen.

"Of course." He stood up straighter, "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I just….I need him to not know I'm in with Loki." Christy said. Stark walked over to her, and looked at the screen.

"Do you want me to watch and make sure everything is hunky-dorey?"

"Don't let me distract you from something more important."

"Of course not." Stark smiled. Christy managed to smile back, then walked down to the cell.

When she walked in, Loki looked up, but didn't smile. "Hey!"She said cheerily. Loki said nothing, just stared at her. "What's wrong? Did you finish the book yet?"

"No." He said.

"Okey...I was thinking of watching a movie tonight, are you up for Harry Potter?"

"What so I will trust you?" His voice was steely cold.

"What?"

"So Fury will stop breadthing down your neck? Why don't you just ask me to tell you my plan! It would save us both trouble!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Or better yet, just play with my emotions. Its called acting. I understand."

"Loki…" He stood up and in one quick stride was inches away from her. His green eyes had become blue with hate, his whole body shook and she could almost smell the anger on him. "I would never…"

"Oh really?" He chuckled darkly, "is that what you told your father?"

"What?"

"I heard you two talking! I heard you tell him you were just acting, just playing with my emotions. That I meant less than nothing to you!"

"I said no such thing!" Christy was confused. Loki scoffed and turned away from her.

"I know what I heard." He said.

"Well you heard wrong." She said.

"I doubt that. But I understand, you were just doing your job! Isn't that we are all doing"

"Loki please listen!"

"Why should I? You need information, it would be better if I do the talking."

"Stop that!" Christy yelled. Loki stopped and glared at her between narrowed eyes. "I never said any of that! I don't know what you heard, but It wasn't that!"

"then what did I hear?"

"I don't know, But I never said any of that."

"You said they sent you in here."

"Well, they did. I was sent on a quest by my mother, to try and find your humanity! They all disapproved but I…Loki I care deeply about you!"

"That's what they call acting." Loki felt his eyes tear up again, and saw that hers had already spilled over. "And I am what they call a fool. Please, get out." He turned away from her. "And take your book."

Christy stared at him for a moment, then grabbed the book and silently left. Once far enough away, she sat down in the hall and began to quietly cry.


	12. Chapter 12

Christy was confused. What had Loki heard? It hadn't been her conversation with her father, he claimed she said things that were absolutely untrue. She shuddered, remembering the look on Loki's face, the betrayel and hate she saw.

She stood up and hurried to the Lab, she needed Stark's help. She paused before she entered, no doubt Tony saw everything. She took a breadth and walked in.

To her surprise, Stark didn't look up as she walked in. He just began talking.

"I checked the records and heard a conversation shortly before you entered between what sounds like you and your dad. I only hear it in Loki's cell, and whats more, I have you and your father in the cafeteria having a very different conversation at the same time."

"So what did he hear?" Christy asked.

"Do you want to listen?" Stark asked. Christy nodded. Stark sighed and pushed play.

The screen showed Loki reading, then played a conversation between her and her father. Christy listened with horror at her fabricated argument.

"No wonder he hates me!" She exclaimed, feeling tears coming on again. Stark put his arm around her comfortingly.

"He doesn't hate you." He said, "if he hates anyone its himself."

"That doesn't really help!" Christy said. Stark sighed and pulled her into a hug.

"What is going on?" Came a voice. Christy turned and saw her father standing there. She stormed past him wordlessly.

Later that night, a young man with curly blond hair wordlessly slipped a tray with soup and three crackers into Loki's cell. Loki felt a quick pang of disappointment that it wasn't Christy bringing him his food, but quickly remembered that they had faught.

So he left the soup untouched, and wished silently that Christy hadn't taken the book.

Christy stayed in her room the whole night, the only person allowed to enter was Tony, and he found her sitting on her bed staring at the wall. She was absentmindedly stroking a stuffed monkey she had kept on her bed since she was seven.

He sat on the edge of her bed. "You going to eat something?" He asked. Christy glared at him."I brought you a chocolate bar…I dunno I guess they help you feel better or something…"

"No thanks Tony." She said.

"He isn't eating either." He said casually. Christy didn't respond. "I told Fury what happened, not all of it, but the part about Loki hearing a conversation that didn't happen. He doesn't know what happened, but Banner and I have a theory."

"I really don't care right now Tony." Christy said.

"I know, but you should hear this. We think it was Ares, god of war, and Fury's father. The gods are arguing constantly, and I think that Ares wanted war to happen. You were getting close enough to changing Loki that Ares feared that the war wouldn't happen." Truthfully, Christy was surprised and did care, but at the moment she just wanted to be alone. So she stared at the wall and said nothing, fighting the urge to cry.

Tony scooted closer to her and put his arm around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She laid her head on his glowy chest and couldn't help the tears that spilt.

Tony said nothing, stroking her hair and holding her like her father should have.


End file.
